MUMBAI: Investors may find this surprising, but as compared to the tall claims made by mutual fund distributors, hardly any of the large national distribution houses today have a qualified "certified financial planner' on their rolls. In fact according to Sanjay Sachdev, vice-chairman of Association of Financial Planners of India, the first batch of examinees, each of whom is paying Rs 50,000 towards the cost of the course, will be appearing for the first of their four semesters of exams in...

MUMBAI: Domestic asset management companies are asking employees to make their personal investments in schemes of the fund houses they work with. The move is aimed at instilling investor confidence in their products. Recently, Kotak Mutual Fund (MF) made it mandatory for employees planning to invest in mutual funds to invest only in its schemes. This means an employee cannot invest in any other scheme if he intends to put money in mutual...

Only a handful of financial planners and distributors — also known as independent financial advisors, or IFAs — have registered as investment advisors after the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Investment Advisors Regulations came into effect on April 21 this year. Belying expectations, merely 28 entities, including institutions, have opted to register as investment advisors, according to Sebi data. Most of the financial planners and IFAs preferred to stick...

MUMBAI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley has given millions of taxpayers a reason to save for their retirement. Up to Rs 50,000 invested in the New Pension System (NPS) can be claimed as a deduction under the new Sec 80CCD (1B). Though the Budget has not altered any feature of the NPS, the additional deduction is a big incentive for investors. A taxpayer in the 30% tax bracket can save up to Rs 15,450 in tax every year. Financial planners believe...

By Nitin Vyakaranam Robo-advisers have been a hot topic of discussion across the financial world. In the US and other developed countries, they have made a serious dent in the market and have been growing at a rapid pace. Wealthfront, Betterment and Nutmeg are some of the leaders in this space in the US and the UK, while across the world, robo-advisers are managing close to $20 billion. Customers too are adapting and switching to these services from traditional planners. Robo-advisers...

The NCD issue of SREI Equipment Finance opens on 9th April. The company plans to raise Rs 500 crore (Rs 250 crore. with an option to retain oversubscription of additional Rs 250 crore). The company is a 50:50 joint venture between Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited & BNP Paribas. It is one of the leading NBFC in organised equipment financing sector in India with a principal focus on financing infrastructure equipment. The minimum investment amount is Rs 10,000 and investors can...

MUMBAI: Domestic asset management companies are asking employees to make their personal investments in schemes of the fund houses they work with. The move is aimed at instilling investor confidence in their products. Recently, Kotak Mutual Fund (MF) made it mandatory for employees planning to invest in mutual funds to invest only in its schemes. This means an employee cannot invest in any other scheme if he intends to put money in mutual...

With the changes effective October 1, 2014, the DDT on debt funds will now be 28.32% for retail individual investors, up from 22.072% they paid earlier. Financial planners feel there is no point for individuals who are in the 10% and 20% tax bracket to opt for the dividend option as it will entail paying higher tax. Hence, these investors should opt for the growth option in debt funds. However, investors in the highest tax bracket...

A financial adviser is no soothsayer, who can make accurate predictions about your investments all the time. While he cannot be blamed for every wrong outcome, there are times that his bad advice can lead to heavy losses for the investor. It may be easy to take in small losses, but the bigger ones will make you want to seek compensation from him. The adviser will be in no mood to make good your losses and the only recourse you may have is to approach the court. But does the...

By Nitin Vyakaranam Robo-advisers have been a hot topic of discussion across the financial world. In the US and other developed countries, they have made a serious dent in the market and have been growing at a rapid pace. Wealthfront, Betterment and Nutmeg are some of the leaders in this space in the US and the UK, while across the world, robo-advisers are managing close to $20 billion. Customers too are adapting and switching to these services from traditional...

Let us examine the financial planning process, as defined by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and adopted by the Association of Financial Planners. It includes six key steps: Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship: The financial planner should clearly explain or document the services to be provided to you and define both his and your responsibilities. The planner should explain fully how he will be paid and by whom. The planner should also disclose any...

MUMBAI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley has given millions of taxpayers a reason to save for their retirement. Up to Rs 50,000 invested in the New Pension System (NPS) can be claimed as a deduction under the new Sec 80CCD (1B). Though the Budget has not altered any feature of the NPS, the additional deduction is a big incentive for investors. A taxpayer in the 30% tax bracket can save up to Rs 15,450 in tax every year. Financial planners believe that the time has come for...

If you have just received your bonus, don't just splurge it. ET tells you how to use this windfall judiciously Spend on family first People tend to be loose-fisted with 'found' money such as bonuses than 'earned' money. To avoid this, financial planners suggest you spend 10% of the bonus on your family and yourself. This will also ensure that the other 90% is used wisely. Upgrade your skills Constantly up grading knowl edge and skills...

Aashish Sharma, 30, an NCR-based IT professional, has been hunting for a house for two years now. This native of Himachal Pradesh was initially keen on an independent house. Finding none available within his budget of Rs 50 lakh, he scaled down his aspirations to a 3-BHK apartment. But even that appears to be out of reach. Sharma is not alone. His tribulations are typical of what young home buyers all over the country face....

By Pankaaj Maalde, Certified Financial Planner Despite the RBI keeping interest rates unchanged for the time being, bank deposit rates are already heading south and loan rates are expected to follow suit early next year. So, taking a loan will become cheaper in the near future. But does this mean that you should opt for one? Easily available, loans today have become a part of our lives. Banks, housing finance companies...

With the changes effective October 1, 2014, the DDT on debt funds will now be 28.32% for retail individual investors, up from 22.072% they paid earlier. Financial planners feel there is no point for individuals who are in the 10% and 20% tax bracket to opt for the dividend option as it will entail paying higher tax. Hence, these investors should opt for the growth option in debt funds. However, investors in the highest tax bracket of 30% can still continue...

Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves. The age-old adage highlights the importance of the habit of saving for a rosier tomorrow. And with the domestic economy booming and jobs mushrooming across diverse service and financial sectors, like BPOs , brokerage houses , media and telecom , young professionals are earning increasingly attractive packages. As per various estimates, nearly 3 to 5 million youth under the age of 25...

MUMBAI: Whilepeople in mature markets may prove to be better financial planners overall, it is women in emerging markets who remain dominant when it comes to basic money management, a MasterCard survey has found. In terms of overall financial literacy, Taiwan and New Zealand tied for first place with a score of 73 index points each. On the other hand, China and India were ranked the lowest in the basic money management index scoring 55...

MUMBAI: Is it a good time to take home some profits from equities? Investors are asking this question as the Nifty crossed 8000 for the first time on Monday. While the general consensus is that India may be at the start of a long-term bull run, wealth managers feel investors can afford to trim a bit of their exposure to stocks as part of their portfolio rebalancing. In the past one year (since August 31), the Nifty is up 44%, gold is...

Framing objectives or goals is the first step in financial planning. Here are the important things to keep in mind while doing so. Set specific goals It is important to set specific financial goals. People tend to assign random figures for their goals without understanding whether the money saved will be sufficient or whether it will be feasible to put away a big amount. A retirement corpus of Rs 2 crore may seem enough at today's prices, but it...